Chris Hurd, PLTW Engineering Master Teacher at Cazenovia High School in Cazenovia, New York, received the 2016 PLTW Engineering Teacher of the Year award at PLTW Summit 2016.
Hurd has been teaching PLTW Engineering since 1999 and has credits in Introduction to Engineering Design (IED), Principles of Engineering (POE), Digital Electronics (DE), Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), and Engineering Design and Development (EDD). He became a Master Teacher in 2000.
Cazenovia High School Principal Eric Knuth describes Hurd as a “force of nature” whose skill in building relationships – with students, colleagues, and community leaders – is unparalleled. Hurd is a trusted adviser and a constant champion for his students; he believes in them wholeheartedly and challenges them to do things they never thought they could. Furthermore, he is known in his community as THE guy when it comes to teaching engineering to high schoolers.
One would be “hard-pressed to find anyone that has more of a positive impact on kids’ lives than Chris Hurd,” Knuth says. “He has been a mentor and model for of hundreds kids, and he changes lives, one student at a time.”